Day 28. June 02, 2019. Drain Oregon

It's Day 28....It's also June 2, 2019....and we are in Drain OR

It's fascinating to me...maybe even a little overwhelming that Not quite a month in at this point...this still feels like a pretty awesome vacation. I keep wondering when it will sink in that I don't have a house anymore? Well....ok...I have a house I guess...it just has wheels. Maybe all that has sunk in and I'm just ok with it....the anticipation of all there is to see out there makes this all way to exciting to be anxious about anything at this point. I mean...how many times in life...will I have the opportunity to walk...or drive...away from conventional thinking...and into a foriegn life....and not be afraid...and yet....here I am...doing it....it's freeing actually....it's exciting....the reality, in my mind is...it is living. I guess my point is....I am determined to run head on into this adventure....no looking back. I feel like...maybe...I am figuring out...that life on a highwire....without a net....ya...can be scary...but it can also be....pretty dang cool!

One thing I can see already is that just because I sold the house....My maintenance and fixing stuff did not go away. Figuring things out...and fixing...or making adjustments to the RV happen on a daily...sometimes hourly basis! Point being...some things in life...well...they just keep coming...albeit in different forms....life is life. Maybe...it's just a matter of choosing...where you want to live it.

For example...I spotted last evening that the passenger side lights on the tow dolly for the car werent working. The tail lights ad brake lights worked....but right turn signal on the dolly didn't work...even though the one on the RV did. Couldn't figure it out on my own so definitely on the list for a shop at our next stop. kinda like calling a plumber on Monday morning...when you couldn't figure out why the kitchen sink clogged...Sunday afternoon?

Dougie and Billie seem to be loving it! Dougie can't wait to jump out the door each morning to run around and check out where we are...what might have changed from our last stop. Billie...his favorite has become when I can manage to find a spot far enough off the beaten path....that he just gets to jump outside and tear off into the woods....or mountains. A little time outside without his harness on seems to make his day....and with his big brother Dougie watching over him...the two together always make mine.

Looking forward to a visit with Friends and Family...we would leave the coast at Reedsport and head into the Elk River Valley.

Hiway 38, also called the Umpqua hiway winds its way deep into the valley....eventually ending some 60 miles or so at the south end of the Willamette Valley at I-5.

A great deal changes as you leave the coast and head into the valley.

First....the scenery...driving along the Umpqua river provides scenic vista's at nearly every turn. The river scenery is backed by thick forest scenery and at times rugged cliff's.

The occasional signs warning of potential rock slides gives you an instant sense just how rugged these mountains can be.

A section of the hiway is even Designated as "The Umpqua Scenic State Corridor."

The deeper into the valley you drive, the more rugged the scenery....until it eventually opens up a bit into rolling mountains dotted with cattle ranches and farms as you get further away from the Coastal Range mountains.

The next thing that changes....the temperatures! Especially on this particular Sunday afternoon

Temps were already on the rise as we pulled into the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area....some 8 miles or so outside of Reedsport.

By the time we has passed through Scottsburg and into Elkton it was nearly 100 degrees!

When we pulled off at an old truck scale for lunch just outside Drain it had hit 103 degrees!

Not the Oregon I remember....I thought....but then....I had never been in this part of Oregon!

I would later learn that yes, these temps are unseasonably warm, even for the valley....and Oregon would be in for a hot summer!

So lets back up a minute....

The Umpqua River.

The Umpqua River is a principal river of the Oregon coast, approximately 111 miles long.

It is formed by the confluence of the North and South Umpqua Rivers near Roseburg.

The river is known for its runs of chinook salmon, sturgeon, and especially steelhead .

The river and its tributaries flow almost entirely within Douglas County, which encompasses most of the watershed of the river from the Cascades to the coast.

The beauty of the area, combined with the diversity makes it attractive to visitors from all around the world.

Whether your looking to fish, hike, kyack or canoe....or even strap on a life jacket for some class 3 river rafting...its all on this river.

Oregon's annual tourism revenue is estimated at around 10 to 12 billion annually.....and it's a pretty sure bet that the Umpqua river basin contributes it's fair share.

I mentioned pulling off at the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. It's a pretty cool stop and interpretive center with tons of information about the surrounding area, and it's wildlife.

The reserve itself is home to some 100 Roosevelt Elk.

A few miles further in and we passed through Scottsburg Oregon. It's sort of a "blink and you'll miss it sorta thing today....Some 260 folks call it home today...and in fact...a good portion of what I did see looked pretty run down...even abandoned...

But it didn't start out that way for Scottsburg....founded in 1850 and quickly became a thriving town with a bustling economy.

There were two parts to the town....lower town at the head of the tidewater on the Umpquah river...which became the site of business houses, and mills.

And the upper town which was a distributing and shipping point for the mining regions and communities of southern Oregon. As many as 500 pack animals could be seen loading here at one time.

And then...two things happened....

First...some of the businesses had begun to transition out closer to the ports....

And second...The Great Flood of 1862...

The Great Flood of 1862 was the largest flood in the recorded history of California, Oregon, and Nevada

Inundating the western United States and portions of British Columbia and Mexico.

The flood was caused by weeks of continuous rains and snows that began in Oregon in November 1861 and continued into January 1862.

The event was capped by a warm intense storm that melted the high snow load. The resulting snow-melt flooded valleys, inundated or swept away towns, mills, dams, flumes, houses, fences, and domestic animals, and ruined fields

The storms caused approximately $100 million (1861 USD) in damage, approximately equal to $3.117 billion (2021 USD)

At least 4,000 people were estimated to have been killed in the floods in California alone, which was roughly 1% of the state population at the time.

Record keeping at the time makes it tough to find loss numbers specific to Oregon....but Scottsburg was devastated...and never really recovered.

Today....some 160 years later...it's a quiet little spot that 10's of thousands drive through each year on their way to the Oregon Coast...and back.

Next on HIway 38......Elkton. A quaint little town founded in 1850 on the lower Umpqua River. It's roots go deep into Oregon's past....but it's always been a quiet little spot nestled in Oregon's coastal mountains overlooking the Umpqua river.

In more recent years the area has added vineyards and winery's to it's list of accomplishments.....so now....

After a day of fishing, boating, or kayaking on the Umpquah.....or hiking or biking anyone of a number of scenic areas...you can end the day at a wine tasting at one of Elkton's locally owned and operated wineries.

Then it was on into Drain.

We would spend several days exploring Drain, Yoncalla, Oakland, Elkton....and beyond.

Drain is a city located in Douglas County, Oregon. The original townsite of Drain was settled in 1847 by Warren Goodell who received 320 acres as a Donation Land Grant from the U.S. government. Goodell's claim was long and narrow in order to encompass as much of the valley's bottom land as possible. This claim was sold to Jesse Applegate in 1858

Jesse Applegate was an American Pioneer from Kentucky. He first migrated to Missouri and later would lead a large group of settlers along the Oregon Trail to Oregon Country. He would go on to become an influential member of Oregon government and would help establish the Applegate trail as an alternative route to Oregon.

In 1861 Charles C. Drain would arrive in the area from the Midwest and purchased the land from Applegate.

Charles Drain would plat the townsite in 1872 and sell 60 acres to the Oregon and California Railroad for one dollar.

A shrewd businessman....he knew that essentially giving the land away....and attracting a railway depot to the area would bring prosperity and growth to the area...driving land values.

Within a decade, many homes, stores and public buildings were constructed and an overland stage route was established between Drain and Scottsburg. At the time...this was the only form of public transportation between the interior valleys and the coast. It provided a vital link from the railroad in Drain the the steam powered paddle boats in Scottsburg.

The railroad would continue to contribute to Drains prosperity in the upcoming years and would be tied directly to the boom in the lumber industry. Not only was Drain on a major railway route connecting Portland with San Francisco...

In addition...the EG Whipple Mill and the Drain Plywood Company would soon open contributing to the towns economic boom.

In the early 1900's the Southern Pacific Railway began construction of a route from Drain to the coast. But after spending nearly 1.5 million on the project....it was abandoned and a line from Eugene to Coos Bay was built instead. There are many stories out there about why the project was abandoned....some even speculate whether or not it was ever going to be completed in the first place....but started as a bluff to keep a major competitor of Southern Pacific out of the area....

More likely....the reality that the route would never be profitable enough to cover the total cost of install all the way through to Coos bay...so the plan was abandoned and a more profitable route between Eugene and Coos Bay was established.

Regardless of the reason....the loss of the route would strike a devastating blow to Drains growth over time as more and more routes were diverted to more streamline and profitable routes between the coast and the valley utilizing Portland, Salem, and Eugene facilities.

The bad luck would just keep coming for Drain when in 1903, and again in 1914 the town would fall victim to fires that would destroy most of the commercial buildings in the city.

In 1881 Drain had a population of 500.

After the devastation of the fires...combined with losing the railroad line to Eugene....and a proposed telegraph plan fell through....Drain would never really recover economically. It would take nearly 40 years for the towns population to get back to 500.

I could not pin point the exact year the Railway depot in Drain ceased operation...but all indicators point to around the same time the second Drain fire devastated the town. What started out as the heart of the young settlement eventually faded into the past. Today....trains still run through Drain regularly....but no stops. Simply product...primarily lumber to and from busier and larger depots further inland.

In the years following WW2 the town would slowly grow to around 1200....where it remains to this day.

Today....Drain remains a quiet little town but perfectly placed for the modern area. nearly smack in the middle, between the Eugene Springfield area and Roseburg...the area is well within commute distance allowing folks to enjoy the small town life in Drain...while working in the larger metro areas.

Hiway 38, which runs through the middle of Drain...just 6 miles from Interstate 5....brings thousands through the town each year on their way to a weekend getaway at the Oregon Coast.

The Oregon Department of Transportation reports that the annual daily average traffic count through Drain is 4800....which means that over a million vehicles each year pass through Drain.

I couldn't find a way to break down unique indicators or eliminate replications meaning commutors....or local traffic...but non the less....no matter how you break it down.....

A LOT of people treck through Drain each year! And I wonder how many have any idea of the history they are driving through....as they pass through a little place called Drain Oregon!?

Another fun fact...since 1938 Oregon has held the number one spot in the nation for soft lumber production. Today...it is an 18 billion dollar per year industry for the state employing nearly 80,000 folks. Nearly all of this revenue, and product comes from the western side of the state...and in particular...Lane, and Douglas Counties. And smack dab in the middle of all this....is where you'll find Drain.

For us...it was several days of hangin out with friends and family....meeting new folks.....endless drives through the surrounding mountains and along the rivers a creeks....and tons of long walks...just soaking in the beauty of the Forested Mountains that dominate this part of the state.

Well done Drain!

Hmmm....headed out of Drain....next up....I dunno...but I wonder what we will learn there?

T